How Much is a Website Domain Name Worth?

Back in December 2010, I got an education in the value of website domains.

Up to this point I had purchased 2 domain names: hwcyouth.org and jeremymavis.com. Both of these domains cost $15 a year to own. I had came across an article that encouraged people to purchase their last name as a domain name (i.e. mavis) to use as an extremely relevant and future-proof email address (i.e. jeremy@mavis.com). I thought, “Cool! I can use this as my email address, my wife could get her own as well, and my girls could get one when they get old enough… all personalized.”

So I looked up mavis.com and contacted the owner of the domain to see what it would cost to purchase. Here is my educational lesson (the emails in italics are mine, the emails in bold are from support@mavis.com):

Hi. I’m interested in the “mavis.com” domain name… Would you be interested in selling?

how much you want to offer?

not sure… how’s $40?

Hahaha

Sorry, it sounds like you know something I don’t, and the jokes on me. Could you start w/ a $$ amount and give me an idea so I can laugh at myself with you?

Go to http://www.valuate.com/ and type in mavis.com for free domain name valuation and you will get an idea. Mavis.com is a five character .com domain name and it is single word.

$97,000 … okay, now I see why you’re laughing! Is the value because it’s a single word and only five letters? I don’t think I’ll be interested in that… someone else with that kind of money can purchase it!

Yes, single word .com domain names are high in value. A company offered us $50k years ago and we didn’t even consider selling it.

About Jeremy Mavis

I am a pastor who specializes in working with children, youth and their families. I enjoy teaching about the God revealed in the Scriptures and sharing experiences and resources related to ministry, parenting, technology, and theology.